Does anyone know the RPM redline for a '99 V6 4.2? The manual just says driving with the tach needle pointing straight up could cause engine damage. I've heard the engine has a rev limiter on it. If that is true, then exceeding the redline would be impossible. In the case of a rev limiter, what would be the MAX RPM I could safely operate my engine at? Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

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'99 F150 XLT Super Cab
[Mods] K&N air filter
[Other] Kenwood KDC-8017 (plays MP3s), Lund Trident bug shield, cheap-*** steering wheel cover

 

the automatics are limited at 5250

 

Dogbite,
The rev limiter all depends on your truck? Does it have an auto or manual transmission. The automatic has a rev limiter at I believe 4300 rpm. If your truck is not equipped with a rev limiter, I would not recommend pushing it much over that, especially for a prolonged period. I would definately recommend staying well under 5000 rpm.

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1997 Ford F-150 Reg. cab Flareside 4x4.
4.2 V-6 5 spd.
Mods:Flowmaster muffler.
Big red Ford oval on
black tinted back
window
Up and coming:
supercharger
Gibson Exhaust
16x8 rims w/285/75R16's
Stainless Steel Nerfbars

 

I heard this somewhere or from someone, wanted to ask though: Is it true that you get all your true horsepower when you're truck is between 4,000-5,000 RPM??

 

I apologize, the rev limiter on the automatic is 4200 rpm.

 

F150Y2K,
Most of the dyno charts I've seen for the Ford engines, show most of the torque peaks between 2000-3000 rpm, while horsepower peaks mostly around 3000-4000 rpm. Anything beyond that and your power will greatly decrease.

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1997 Ford F-150 Reg. cab Flareside 4x4.
4.2 V-6 5 spd.
Mods:Flowmaster muffler.
Big red Ford oval on
black tinted back
window
Up and coming:
supercharger
Gibson Exhaust
16x8 rims w/285/75R16's
Stainless Steel Nerfbars

 

Big red flairside do you have any pics of your truck with the bigger rim/tire combo?

I want to upgrade my stock 16s but not buy 1200 dollars worth of rims too. I will stick with the stockers but go to something like a GY Wrangler AT/S 305/70R16 or something

 

I shift at 5,000 at the track. My horsepower only started to decrease at 4700 rpm on the dyno and the extra 300 rpm gets me closer to the next gear(when I shift it drops me closer to the start/peak of the powerband). I know the rev limiter on the manuals is 5,500 or so. I have hit it a few times....

 

I have never hit my rev limiter and had it all he way up to 5,500 rpms.I had it up that high for the exact same reason as Ilovnos.Shift and you are right in the powerband again..I find it hard to believe that driving with the needle pointing straight up would damage the motor.Straight up is only like 3,000rpms or so.heck thats just when the power is kickin in.

 

BigRedFlareside,

I'm not so sure about the 4200 rev limit. I've had my engine up to 5000 before. Mind you, not for very long though. I do like the truck... for a V-6, she has a few ponies under her hood. I haven't tried towing anything yet...

To everyone, thanks for all the feedback. You all gave great info and knowledge I can use. Again, thanks...



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'99 F150 XLT Super Cab
[Mods] K&N air filter
[Other] Kenwood KDC-8017 (plays MP3s), Lund Trident bug shield, cheap-*** steering wheel cover

 

lighning, you may be right, usually around 5500 I look up to see if the truck is going where it's supposed to(I've only hit the limiter doing burnouts and such ). It may as well be 6000. 500 rpm is nothing when those rear tires are a spinnin free! Needle straigt up? I have cruised many a times in 3rd gear with the needle straight up waiting for that ricer next to me to give me a reason. That's the meaty part of the PB and when you drop it from there....hold on cause the NOS is next then 4th...jeez I need to go drive, BRB.

 

The Hp on the 4.2 is 205 @ 4750 RPM

Why would the redline be 4200? The engine would never be able to see max Hp if that were so.

 

the redline limiter is 5250 for both auto and manual... the top speed limiter is between 4200-4400rpm in 4th gear.



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TRUCK
White 00' XLT 4.2 Auto Sport
Regular cab Styleside
3.55 non-limited slip
Superchip
Airaid FIPK
custom ported STOCK throttle body

PC
Thunderbird 1.1ghz @ 1.33ghz
Abit KT7A-Raid
384mb Kingmax PC-150 ram
60gig IBM 75gxp RAID array
Geforce2 GTS 64mb

 

Ok, my bad!! I had read somewhere one of the limiters was at 4200 on the auto. I thought it was rev, but now what you guys say rings a bell. Sorry about any mis-information.

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1997 Ford F-150 Reg. cab Flareside 4x4.
4.2 V-6 5 spd.
Mods:Flowmaster muffler.
Big red Ford oval on
black tinted back
window
Up and coming:
supercharger
Gibson Exhaust
16x8 rims w/285/75R16's
Stainless Steel Nerfbars

 

ok, on my 98 v-6 the rev limiter is 5600, and the redline is supposed to be 5500, you're not going to throw a rod going 100 rpm over your redline for the fractions of a second that you would be doing so if you hit the limiter. i've hit the limiter several times when shifting from 1st and 2nd gears, but not usually from 3rd. in the higher gears, you don't really need to go that far above your power peak to catch the next gear, so my shiftpoints are usually something like
1st - 5500
2nd - 5500
3rd - 5250
4th - 4th is after the end of the track of course but when i'm just running it out on the highway, i'll shift at 4500 - 5000

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Oxford White
98' F150 XLT Reg. cab/Swb
4.2 V-6 5-speed
Mods:

Goodies: